RREACHing one billon people with the message of Christ

Leading Pastors from 50 Countries to Converge in Dallas

for Launch of Global Proclamation Commission

From June 4-13, 2010, RREACH will host a strategic reunion to implement massive

10-year plan to reach one billion people with the message of Christ

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—On June 4, 2010, prominent and distinguished young pastors from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe will meet in Dallas, Texas, for a dynamic 10-day strategic reunion. These 100 leading pastors from over 50 countries are all graduates of RREACH’s GPA (Global Proclamation Academy) held on the historic campus of Dallas Theological Seminary each summer. They will initiate the Global Proclamation Commission (G-Pro Commission)—a human capital campaign to exponentially improve the quality of the proclamation of God’s Word and the perception of the Lord Jesus Christ to perpetuate spiritual health worldwide.

Over the next decade, RREACH’s vision is to fulfill Jesus’ Global Proclamation Commission (Luke 24:47) by strategically connecting, systematically uniting, and spiritually strengthening large numbers of pastors into a Global Proclamation Community. “Our ultimate goal is to connect, unite, and strengthen 100,000 pastors from 200 countries by 2020 for the purpose of influencing their congregations to reach into spiritually needy contexts,” says Ramesh Richard, Ph.D., Th.D., the founder and president of RREACH, which is the sponsoring organization of the GPA. “This global community will be made up of a few thousand pastoral cohorts with 25 pastors in each group, thus enabling us to reach our vision—to change the way one billion individuals think and hear about the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Global Proclamation Academy was established by Richard in 2005 as a ministry of RREACH in concert with Dallas Theological Seminary where he serves as Professor of Global Theological Engagement. Its annual three-week summer program was created to strengthen and connect influential younger pastors from around the world by gathering them together to explore biblical spirituality, theological discernment, and effective preaching with experienced master-coaches drawn from across the United States.

“Since Christianity has now become a non-Western religion, younger pastors from developing economies need reinforcement and relationships in order to stabilize the future health of the global Church,” says Richard. “Before the Church in the West fades to the fringes of the Faith, the Global Proclamation Academy harnesses her leaders, resources, and institutions to invest in those already making a great and beautiful impact for the Lord Jesus. We must prevent churches from internally imploding wherever they are externally exploding.”

From June 4-13, 2010, a decade-defining reunion of GPA graduates from 2005-2009, along with many of their wives, will provide the human infrastructure to build an expanding network of influential and connected pastoral leaders who shape the future of the Church for effective ministry worldwide. Structured times for prayer, planning, instruction, and fellowship, along with a special program for the wives, will culminate in the launch of the G-Pro Commission during “Launch Weekend” on June 11-13 at DFW’s new Grand Hyatt Hotel.

For more information, please visit http://www.thegpa.net/

Planning a Women’s Retreat? Why Settle for a Weekend Getaway?

Travel the world in seven sessions with Group’s new retreat kit

When most churches begin planning a women’s retreat, their first step is to track down a guest speaker. Next, they may book a fancy hotel or rustic retreat center for a weekend. Regardless of the venue, the outcome is usually the same: lots of sitting, listening, and note-taking. For churches willing to trade convention for adventure, the next women’s retreat could be a passport to another world.

Wonder Full World Women’s Ministry Retreat Kit, the newest retreat kit for women from Group Publishing, Inc., offers an affordable, fun-filled, interactive experience for churches of any size and budget. The retreat kit equips churches to create an experience for the women of their congregations using the talent of their own members rather than having a speaker come in for the weekend. Wonder Full World is more than just a weekend getaway. It’s an imaginative journey around the world and an exploration of the “I wonders” in a woman’s heart through in-depth Bible study, an unforgettable worship experience, and an open invitation for girlfriends to draw closer together and experience the vastness of God’s love.

With a Group retreat kit, churches have access to all the resources they need to lead a retreat and the opportunity to encourage the women in their own congregations to fulfill the leadership roles. As women take part in this imaginary world tour, they will ponder seven questions:

· I wonder if anyone cares about me…
· I wonder what it would be like to be royalty…
· I wonder if I matter to God…
· I wonder where God is when life is hard…
· I wonder if I can really rely on God…
· I wonder if I can make a difference…
· I wonder what’s ahead for me…

For $99.99, churches will receive everything they need to host the retreat, including a director’s guide, a worship leader’s guide, a custom CD with eight songs, seven leader’s guides (one for each session), a training and promotional DVD with three commercials, a CD-ROM with graphics and other resources, and travel themed audio tracks for each session. The kit also contains samples of the essentials and gifts for each participant attending the retreat: a journal, charm, music CD, tote bag, and swatch from the service project blankets. The basic cost for materials per participant is between $13.50 for the essentials (journal, charm, and service project) and $21.00 (which includes the essentials as well as a music CD and tote bag). Like Group’s VBS curriculum, each women’s retreat includes a service project. This year, participants will make fleece blankets to be sent around the world to those in need.

In a time when many young women perceive women’s ministry as an activity for their mothers, Group has created Wonder Full World Women’s Ministry Retreat Kit to connect with women of every age and walk of life, even teenagers. Nappa’s team has also taken care to make the materials accessible to women who don’t know Jesus.

Wonder Full World Women’s Ministry Retreat Kit

Group Publishing May 2010

ISBN: 978-0-7644-7400-2/$99.99

For other product information, visit www.group.com/womensretreats

Contest#1 - The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews - ends Jun 09th, 2010. Open Worldwide

Constest open Worldwide
Synopsis (from the front and back flaps):

While digging up a withering wax myrtle tree besides his waterfront home on the Gulf Coast, author Andy Andrews unearths a rusted metal container filled with Nazi artifacts and begins an intriguing investigation that unlocks an unspoken past that took place in this backyard…literally.

In the summer of 1942, as the country gears up for a full-scale commitment to WWII, German subs are dispatched to the Golf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel for the war. While taking a late-night walk along the coastline, Helen Mason – recently widowed by the realities of war – discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann’s uniform, Helen is prepared to leave the lieutenant to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind. Set in a period simmering with anger and suspicion, The Heart Mender offers the very real chronicle of a small town preparing itself for the worst the world has to offer. As cargo from torpedoed ships begins to wash up on the beach, Josef and Helen must reconcile their past in order to create a future.

Blending his unique style of historical accuracy with unparalleled storytelling. Andy Andrews offers a tale of war, faith, and forgiveness – illuminating the one principle that frees the human spirit.

Thanks to Kristi Johnson and the Thomas Nelson Publishers team, I have one (1) copy of this fabulous book to give away. Here is what you need to do to win a copy:

Giveaway Rules:

1- ) No purchase is necessary … :) ... (just kidding)… :) ...

2- ) Mandatory: Leave a comment with a valid e-mail address to enter into a drawing. Each comment is one entry and you can leave just one comment per day with your e-mail address.

3- ) You can enter an additional comment (another chance of winning!) if you are/become a follower of my blog (must be public profile). This is just one comment/entry during the whole life of this contest. It is not “one comment per day” opportunity, like item # 2.

4- ) If you have your own review blog, leave a link to your blog in a separate comment, to count as another entry. Same criteria as rule #3 apply here (Just one additional entry during the whole life of this contest).

5- ) You can enter an additional comment (another chance of winning!) if you are/become my follower on twitter. Same criteria as rule #3 apply here (Just one additional entry during the whole life of this contest).




All valid comments will be sorted by the order they were entered and they will be given a sequential number. The winner will be selected using the site www.random.org and they will be immediately notified by e-mail, so, no e-mail, no entry. Result also will be posted here in the day following the end of contest.

Contest ends June 09th, 2010 - 11:59 P.M., NJ time (e.s.t.)

Book will be sent by USPS Media Mail.

Book "The Heart Mender" by Andy Andrews

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This is a very touching story of a beautiful woman (Helen Mason) who lost all hope in life when her husband was killed by the Nazis in an air raid in London during WWII and how she struggle in life to learn to forgive. An opportunity came when she found a near-lifeless body in the beach close to the house where she lived. But she found out that the person she just rescued was a German soldier (officer Lt. Josef Landermann), in similar conditions of a broken soul as herself. He was in a German U-boat (submarine) in the warm waters of Golf of Mexico and was betrayed and shot by a Nazi-officer and left to die in the ocean, but ended up washing ashore and he looks to Helen for survival.

This is truly a story of loss and reconciliation, showing the power of forgiveness. The plot and characters are unforgettable. Main characters are Helen Mason, Josef Landermann, Hans Kuhlmann, Wan Cooper, Margaret and Billy Gilbert, Danny Gilbert, Harris Kramer and Ernst Schneider.

This book was written by Andy Andrews and it was published by Thomas Nelson in 2010 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program.

It took me about 7 hours to read this book.

My Rate: 5 stars

Movie "The History of Christianity - The First Three Thousand Years" (2010)

If you are into religion and want to know more about origins of Christianity, this is a must have Series in your collection.

With his passionate narration, Oxford’s History of the Church professor Diarmaid MacCulloch makes you feel like you are living part of the history. He is considered to be one of the greatest authorities on History of the Church.

He mentions that although Christianity is seen as a Western faith, its beginnings are in the Middle East. And to demonstrate his point, he goes in search of Christianity’s forgotten origins, and he lead us in a travel to different parts of the world, starting in Jerusalem and going to Syria, Damascus, Constantinople, Baghdad, going even to the far east, where Christianity was known as Religion of Light in China, where it was poised to triumph in the seventh century.

Watching the first DVD only makes you willing to watch the entire series, composed of six DVDs. It is a BBC co-production with the Open University and Jerusalem Productions (that says a lot by itself). The scenes are beautiful. The only minor detail is that I do not completely agree with the title of the series - The First Three Thousand Years – it implies that they are gone and as a matter of fact we are just starting the third of those thousand years…

The B&B Media Group was kind enough to send me the first DVD of this series for reviewing.

Operation Kid-to-Kid

Operation Kid-to-Kid™ Blankets a Hurting World with God’s Love

Tonight in countries around the world, children will go to sleep hungry and cold, without parents, without homes...without hope. Now your ministry group can send a simple, tangible expression of God’s love to those in need.

Group Publishing, the premier publisher of children’s Bible curricula, including Sunday school and VBS, believes that some of the best ministers to children who are experiencing disaster and hardship are other children. Through the Operation Kid-to-Kid (OK2K) program, Group partners with nondenominational Christian ministries like Biblica (formerly International Bible Society) and World Vision to provide opportunities for children in North America to share God’s love with other children in difficult or disastrous situations. In 2009 alone, Operation Kid-to-Kid reached almost one million children. Since its inception 12 years ago, Operation Kid-to-Kid projects have impacted over 4.5 million kids and their communities all over the world. Highlights include:

· Over 100,000 care kits distributed to countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Albania

· More than 380,000 gift boxes sent to needy children worldwide

· Over 310,000 pairs of shoes and 200,000 pairs of socks given to orphans across the globe

· Over 1.5 million Spanish Bible books delivered worldwide

· More than a million cuddly prayer bears and copies of The Survivor’s Bible provided free of charge to underprivileged children all over the world

“Operation Kid-to-Kid is a great way to teach kids compassion and service,” says Joani Schultz, cofounder of Group and OK2K. “Children learn by doing. It’s one thing to drop a nickel in the offering plate, but when kids make a gift with their own hands, when they can be creative and personal, this leaves a real impression on both the givers and the receivers.”

This year’s OK2K project is a simple no-sew fleece blanket that proclaims “God Loves Me!” right in the fabric. Each 56” by 42” blanket will also include a hidden surprise—a little white heart concealed between the fleece layers. The heart is a sweet secret kept by those who create the blankets, one that symbolizes God’s love for the world and our love for others. Project participants are encouraged to pray specifically for the unknown person who will receive the blanket as they tuck the heart inside.

The OK2K blanket can easily be incorporated into any Sunday school or VBS curriculum. This year, the “God Loves Me” blanket is included as a special activity in Group’s two new 2011 VBS programs, Egypt: Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace and High Seas Expedition. The multi-generational participants will learn about the 40 million children around the world who are desperately vulnerable because of the AIDS pandemic and the effects of extreme poverty. Through Group’s partnership with World Vision, blankets created this year will reach children in Africa coping with the pandemic’s effects on their communities or families, including those who have been orphaned. Instructions for delivering the blankets to World Vision for distribution are included with each blanket kit. To make the gift extra special, churches can send a personalized “God Loves Me” coloring book with each blanket.

Over the years, OK2K has become one of the largest forces mobilizing children in serving other children around the world through gifts of school supplies, Bibles, hygiene kits, Christmas gifts, Bible coloring books, and socks and shoes. But the ministry opportunities are not just for kids. Between recent natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti and the lingering effects of the global economic crisis, there are more opportunities than ever for Christians to show the love of Christ to others in need—and not just for a VBS event. Operation Kid-to-Kid can mobilize service projects any time of the year. Because the “God Loves Me” blanket project is so simple and practical, it is a perfect fit for a variety of ministry opportunities, from youth or women’s groups and short-term mission trips to neighborhood outreach initiatives and ministry to the homeless. With a little imagination, a ministry group of any size and age can customize the project to support its own ministry vision.

“For many of us, a mission-focused heart is something that develops over time. Like any aspect of Christ’s character in us, loving others like Christ loves them takes practice. This is a lesson for adults as well as children,” says Schultz. “Hopefully, OK2K service projects like the ‘God Loves Me’ blanket will encourage Christians of all ages to commit greater time and resources to missions.”

To find out how you can get involved, visit http://www.ok2k.org/!

Book "Stuff Christians Like" by Jonathan Acuff

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This book is divided in ten major chapters and the author writes about the topics in those chapters in deep details, giving his perception of many common situations that we see happening during services at Christian churches.

The author uses all his sarcasm to describe all situations that happen in a daily basis not only at the church, but also at the office, basically anywhere, that are related to the Christian faith. In one hand, this book is extremely funny and if you are willing to laugh out loud, you could not choose a better book. In the other hand, the author nails deep in our conscience. It is like a “wake up call”, and if we start thinking about what he is writing, instead of laughing we should be crying. He just describes the naked truth of the current status of situations happening inside our faith. He has a great sense of humor and perception. Some chapters are really hilarious, like how to handle the handholding situation during a service.

God is not a joke. We need to take God seriously, and that does not mean that we cannot have fun and laugh, but when we start judging people by what they do or what they don’t do, we start trying to act as God. Thanks to the author for allowing us to note and meditate on how several times silly things can distract us from the things that really matters.

This book is classified as a Humor/General Book and was written by Jonathan Acuff in 2010.

It took me around 7 hours to read this book.

My Rate: 4 Stars

If you want to buy this book, use the link:

Book "Bible Jumble for Kids" by Christopher Hudson with Megan Chrans

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Book "The Right Call" by Kathy Herman

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This is a mistery/christian book written by Kathy Herman in 2010. It was published by David C.Cook also in 2010 and The B&B Media Group was kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program.

This is the third book of a series called Sophie Trace Trilogy.
The history develops in a city close to the Great Smoky Mountains named Sophie Trace. Our Hero, Ethan Langley, returns from college to spend his summer vacation with his family, and he is willing to see where his friendship with Vanessa Jessup (daughter of police chief Brill Jessup) might lead. But a series of events will shake his world and he will face a hard decision. He can either help the authorities supplying information that will help them breaking a shooting case but at the cost of endangering the life of his loved ones, or he can chose a path that is also equally dangerous. Will he make the right call?

Although I did not read the first two books of this trilogy, the history holds as a stand alone history. But having liked the style of the author, I am eager to read the first two books of this series. The book goes deep into the problem of addictions, as mentioned by the theme of the book, a passage from 2 Peter 2:19b: “A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him”. For our history, some addictions are to gambling, lying, smoking etc.

In general, this is a very easy reading book (it took me about 13 hours to read it), very entertaining and with an excellent plot. If you enjoy a good suspense, this book is for you.

If you want to know more about the author, visit http://www.kathyherman.com/.

Publisher information can be found at http://www.davidccook.com/.

My Rate: 5 stars

Book "Will The World End In 2012?" by Raymond C. Hundley, Ph.D.

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This is a religious/christian life book written by Dr. Raymond Hundley in 2010. It was published by Thomas Nelson also in 2010 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Booksneeze - Book Review Bloggers Program.

Holding a bachelor degree in theology, my main interest was always eschatology. The author does a magnificent job analyzing ten "end of world" prophecies during the first ten chapters of his book, and giving his point of view on each one with a conclusion at the end of each chapter, summarizing with logical arguments the validity (or not) of each prophecy. He covers the mayan prophecy, solar storms, the Large Hadron Collider, predictions of Nostradamus, reversal of magnetic poles, collision with another planet, Earth’s alignment with the galactic plane, eruption of a super volcano, the WEB Bot Project and finally some religious predictions of the end of the world. And his conclusions are coherent with Christian theology.

In general, this is a very easy reading book (it took me a little more than 5 hours to read it), very entertaining and hopefully the reader will be more at easy with the growing hysteria of 2012 end of the world. The end of the world as we know it is no different from the end of our individual personal lives. We should always be prepared for that.

My Rate: 4 stars